Quite sadly, the Holocaust is not an accepted fact in the Arab and Muslim world. The myth of the "Holocaust Myth"
is very popular, and people discuss in earnest whether or not there could have been gas chambers or whether the evil
Jews invented all that.

CAIRO, Egypt -- Mohammed Mahdi Akef , leader of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's major opposition
party, said Thursday that the Holocaust was a "myth." He denounced Western governments for criticizing
holocaust denial, using almost exactly the same words as Iranian President
Ahmadinejad and the Iranian foreign office
had used earlier. He also said that Western democracy "was drawn up by the sons of Zion."

"Western democracies have denounced all those who don't see eye to eye
with the Zionists regarding the myth of the Holocaust," Akef wrote in a weekly article in the Muslim Brotherhood's
official Web site.

Earlier, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Assefi had defended the Holocaust denial remarks of President
Ahmadinejad in similar words:

""What the president said is an academic issue...The West's reaction show their
continued support for Zionists.

"Westerners are used to leading a monologue but they should learn to listen to different views."

Efraim Zuroff , the director of the Israeli branch of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, noted:

"There's no question that
a very ugly wave of Holocaust denial is sweeping the Arab world. The problem is that so far in the Arab world, very few leaders are
willing to tell their own people that they have to understand that the
Holocaust did take place."

The brotherhood's slogan is "Islam is the answer." Its independent candidates, fielded to get around a government
prohibition, garnered 20% of the vote in recent Egyptian elections, despite violent opposition by sword wielding
partisans of the government NDP party. Less than a quarter of Egypt's electorate participated in the elections. Egyptian
critics claimed that the relative victory of the Muslim Brotherhood was due to the fact that the government
systematically stifled all other opposition, so that the "independent" candidates of the brotherhood were the only
protest outlet.

The Muslim brotherhood are spiritual followers of Sayyid Qutb. Qutb visited the United States as a student in the
late 1940s. He was horrified by "degenerate" Western customs, such as those evidenced by men and women participating in
a dance together. His views about the West and the Jewish people became mainstays of the Muslim Brotherhood. The
Brotherhood was involved in several assassinations and assassination attempts against Egyptian leaders, including the
murder of Prime Minister Nokrashy and most probably the murder of President Anwar Sadat. Qutb himself was executed
in the 1960s for his role in a plot against President Gamal Abdul Nasser. In recent years, the Muslim brotherhood
claimed that it has renounced violence against other Muslims. It is not clear that all factions agree however.

Egypt has a peace treaty with Israel, but Egyptian media continue to show virulent anti-Semitic material, including a
film about the mythical "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" as well as articles praising Hitler in various newspapers. Egyptians view the rise of
the Muslim Brotherhood with equanimity, claiming that the vote for them was largely a protest vote, or that the
Brotherhood will not really implement its program if elected.

Egypt gets about $2 billion in US aid each year, most of which is used to buy armaments. Egyptian per-capita GDP is
estimated at about $4,200. Egyptian elections were freer than used to be the case, because of heavy US pressure on
Egypt to democratize. However, Akef wrote:

"These words are meant to expose the false American rule which has
become a nightmare new world order.. I am making
these comments to all free people around the world, to wake up the
conscience of humanity. The sword of democracy is only unsheathed
against those who raise the flag of Islam."

In his article, Akef also promised that the group will press to
implement "the correct teachings of Islam:"

"You Brothers, are the guardians of Sha'aria. Your main concern
should be the heritage of Sha'aria, which you uphold."

Some critics believe that the brotherhood's public statements are mild compared to the program that it
privately intends to implement.